It's faster to buy from a nursery, I don't have good experience w the big box stores. They let the plants dry out all day. Most of my plants come from seedlings, once you get started, you just need to keep going every 3-4 weeks to have a steady supply of plants.

I grow from seeds...Love watching things sprout and mature. last year I started using the lasagna gardening method of enhancing soil. It works great. The grandkids planted the first seeds Mid march of last year..so we are almost at the time to start again. Now to get the forcast to say something other than "snow" lol